PEOPLE HAVE A RIGHT to voice their concerns and frustrations about the state of the roads in this country. It is utter madness what people are experiencing, especially when they are paying road tax, yet can’t see where their contributions are going.
This really upsets me. I wouldn’t be surprised if the sale of rims, tyres, bottom arms, shocks, steering rods, CV joints and the like have increased. What makes matters worse is that the roads are poorly lit and when the rain falls, the potholes are camouflaged.
On Monday, November 28, 2016, the DAILY NATION published a Page 1 article titled Pothole Battle. In it, Minister of Transport and Works Michael Lashley spoke about his ministry’s approach to dealing with the pothole issue. Below are a few of my concerns.
1. The minister said that the Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) had to accept some responsibility for the current state of the roads since its personnel were not getting to the problems fast enough, and small holes were developing into major problems too often. At no time did the minister, who is responsible for the MTW, accept any responsibility for the problem. Rather, it was passed on to the organisation.
2. “Sources within the ministry said that special pothole crews had been assigned to every available truck.”
At the beginning of paragraph 4, it stated that the MTW had only “one” working pothole patcher. Therefore, the above should have read that crews were assigned to “the” available truck (unless MTW workers were assigned to C.O. Williams trucks). I don’t believe this was the case since in a later paragraph, it stated that a special arrangement was made with C.O. Williams Construction to put pothole-patching teams to complement the ministry’s crews.
3. Minister Lashley said the ministry had established an “asphalt reinforcement team”. I am lost here. Why is there a need for such a team when MTW workers already deal with roadworks?
4. When questioned whether the fixing of potholes was influenced by the visit of Prince Harry, the minister responded: “We had potholes before the prince was to visit.” This answer is unacceptable and here is why. Since potholes existed before the prince was to visit, why are they only being fixed the week he is visiting? The Government can’t be upset that the public accused it of fixing the roads just to impress the prince.
5. The minister said he knew where the potholes were, thanks to the NATION and his people (assuming the MTW). I am sure there are hundreds of potholes around the country. I could be wrong, but the NATION hasn’t published photos and locations of even 20 potholes.
The ministry has the responsibility for doing site visits all year round as well as setting up a system where commuters and residents can post notices on its site or social media forum of where potholes and other road hazards are occurring.
6. The minister also said that if necessary, MTW would put new road construction on the back burner for the next six to eight months and concentrate all resources on bringing existing roads to an acceptable standard. If this is being communicated, one is left to assume that there wasn’t any prior plan or priority to bring existing roads to an acceptable standard.
7. The minister said he had received permission from the minister of finance to utilise some of the $5 million being used on another project to eliminate some of the potholes. Additionally, Government was seeking to acquire $10 million from a multimillion-dollar loan from the Inter-American Development Bank for road improvements.
What are the public’s road taxes being used for? Please, the public would love to see a report of the amount of road tax collected over the past three years and how it was used. Is it that the road taxes received fall that short that there is need for multimillion-dollar loans to improve roads?
The public relations officer at MTW has stated that valid drivers can be compensated for damage caused by deficient roads by sending a letter stating when and where it occurred. What proof does the ministry have that claims made were indeed as a result of public roads?
Given that some people may abuse this method, a more comprehensive reporting system should be implemented, inclusive of dated photos and accompanying statements from Road Rescue or insurance companies as proof of damage.
Do the provisions also include injuries to people? The ministry needs to release a detailed public statement about this provision.
• Corey Worrell, a former Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, is director of C2J Foundation Inc., a project-based NGO focusing on social development. Email: coreyworrell@gmail.com